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Snow should let up early afternoon

LOWELL -- Winter Storm Saturn socked Merrimack Valley commuters Friday morning with a steady blast of snow, one the National Weather Service reports shows no signs of stopping until the afternoon.

As of 8:30 a.m., National Weather Service snowfall totals have already topped nine inches for Lowell and between 10 and 11 in higher elevations like Pepperell and Groton.

"It's swirling around and for today it appears to be staying stationary," the National Weather Service's Kim Buttrick said about the storm, which is centered over the Atlantic Ocean just off the Massachusetts coast. "It should wobble around west but the pressure won't really start to pull away until tomorrow afternoon."

Precipitation, however, should let up later today, and with the National Weather Service's declaration of a winter storm warning until 1 p.m., all schools in the Merrimack Valley have been closed.

The heavy, wet snow has not yet had a significant effect on powerlines as National Grid is reporting that just 47 customers in Middlesex County are without power.

The effect on commuters, however, is being felt as an accident on Interstate 495 southbound near Route 38 is tied up due to a rear-end collision in the center lane.

In Billerica, police reported power lines were down on Boston Road in the Pinehurst neighborhood.

In Lowell, city trash and recycling efforts normally scheduled for Friday have been suspended, and will be continued Saturday.

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Regularly scheduled Saturday trash and recycling pick-up will be Monday.

For more info on Friday's storm please read Saturday's edition of the Lowell Sun. Follow Evan Lips at Twitter.com/evanmlips.

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